A Catholic priest in Arizona has voluntarily resigned after it emerged that he had been bungling the religious ritual by a single word for more than 20 years. The Catholic Diocese of Phoenix announced that church leaders had found that Father Andres Arango’s use of the phrase “we baptize” rather than the singular “I baptize,” the strict wording mandated by the Vatican, had invalidated nearly every baptism he had ever performed. Arango said in a letter he “deeply” regretted the mistake, and confirmed that he would be stepping down from St. Gregory Parish’s pulpit in order to “dedicate my energy and full time ministry to help remedy this and heal those affected.” In a statement to The New York Times, the diocese’s bishop said that he didn’t believe Arango had meant “to harm the faithful or deprive them of the grace of baptism and the sacraments.” There was “no single clear answer” on the mangled phrasing’s cascade effect, such as how it might impact those incorrectly baptized and later married by the Church, the Phoenix diocese said.
